In cargo planes, railway goods wagons, cargo containers, lorries or similar, the problem frequently arises of objects placed on the loading surface of a transport container unintentionally slipping back and forth because of a lack of usable fastenings during braking and accelerating manoeuvres or travel around bends. This can not only cause damage to the objects, but, particularly when transporting heavy, sharp-edged objects, can also cause damage to the structure or bodywork parts of the vehicles or cargo containers.
Therefore, devices of the aforementioned type are already known (GB-A-14 51 117), which have two structural parts that are panel-shaped, for example, and are displaceable relative to one another, one of which being configured as an assembly element and fastened to a wall of the transport container. The other structural part is configured as a clamping or holding element and when not in use is arranged in the vicinity of the assembly element so that there remains a sufficiently large free space between it and an opposing wall of the transport container to receive the objects. If the load is to be secured or positioned in the region of a wall, the holding element is moved against the objects in such a manner that these are firmly clamped between the holding element and the opposing wall or are at least positioned in an area, which is then formed between the pushed-forward holding element and the opposing wall.
A swivel mechanism, which is arranged between the two structural parts and fastened to these and which is operated by means of a threaded rod arranged perpendicular to the direction of movement, serves to perform the movements of the holding element, and by self-locking at the same time serves as a means for locking the holding element in a preselected clamping position. A disadvantage in this case is firstly that the device has a comparatively complicated structure, and secondly access to the threaded spindle becomes more difficult in the case of transport containers with high upward projecting side walls and in the case of confined space conditions, as is the case, for example, with smaller transport containers such as standard crates, for example.
In addition, devices of the aforementioned type are known (EP-A-0 737 601), in which the two structural parts can be moved relatively to one another by means of a swivel mechanism, which has a plurality of levers connected to one another in a scissor-like arrangement. The end sections of the levers are displaceably disposed by means of slide sections in guide means arranged transversely to the direction of movement. Moreover, the swivel mechanism has an associated means for locking the holding element in a preselected position that contains a locking screw or a clamping element. This known device is especially intended for the luggage areas of passenger vehicles and is also usable in the case of confined space conditions, since, in contrast to the device described, it can be operated from a front or rear wall of the transport container. However, the disadvantage with this device is that it is not sufficiently stable and torsionally rigid, when heavy objects weighing 200 kg and more, for example, have to be fixed in position.
Moreover, what the two known devices have in common is that their two panel-shaped structural parts are arranged essentially parallel to one another and to two associated walls of the transport container in each relative position. This results in problems with the fixture and positioning of objects, which only extend over a portion of the width of the respective transport container and/or have round or cylindrical outer contours such as barrels, for example.